A fourth-order approximate projection method for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations on locally-refined periodic domains

In this follow-up of our previous work [30], the author proposes a high-order semi-implicit method for numerically solving the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations on locally-refined periodic domains. Fourth-order finite-volume stencils are employed for spatially discretizing various operators in the context of structured adaptive mesh refinement (AMR). Time integration adopts a fourth-order, semi-implicit, additive Runge–Kutta method to treat the non-stiff convection term explicitly and the stiff diffusion term implicitly. The divergence-free condition is fulfilled by an approximate projection operator. Altogether, these components yield a simple algorithm for simulating incompressible viscous flows on periodic domains with fourth-order accuracies both in time and in space. Results of numerical tests show that the proposed method is superior to previous second-order methods in terms of accuracy and efficiency. A major contribution of this work is the analysis of a fourth-order approximate projection operator.     

A compressible single‐temperature conservative two‐phase model with phase transitions

A model for multidimensional compressible two‐phase flow with pressure and velocity relaxations based on the theory of thermodynamically compatible system is extended to study liquid–gas flows with cavitation. The model assumes for each phase its own pressure and velocity, while a common temperature is considered. The governing equations form a hyperbolic system in conservative form and are derived through the theory of a thermodynamically compatible system. The phase pressure‐equalizing process and the interfacial friction are taken into account in the balance laws for the volume fractions of one phase and for the relative velocity by adding two relaxation source terms, while the phase transition is introduced into the model considering in the balance equation for the mass of one phase the relaxation of the Gibbs free energies of the two phases. A modification of the central finite‐volume Kurganov–Noelle–Petrova method is adopted in this work to solve the homogeneous hyperbolic part, while the relaxation source terms are treated implicitly. In order to investigate the effect of the mass transfer in the solution, a 1D cavitation tube problem is presented. In addition, two 2D numerical simulations regarding cavitation problem are also studied: a cavitating Richtmyer–Meshkov instability and a laser‐induced cavitation problem. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical simulation of transpiration cooling through porous material

Transpiration cooling using ceramic matrix composite materials is an innovative concept for cooling rocket thrust chambers. The coolant (air) is driven through the porous material by a pressure difference between the coolant reservoir and the turbulent hot gas flow. The effectiveness of such cooling strategies relies on a proper choice of the involved process parameters such as injection pressure, blowing ratios, and material structure parameters, to name only a few. In view of the limited experimental access to the subtle processes occurring at the interface between hot gas flow and porous medium, reliable and accurate simulations become an increasingly important design tool. In order to facilitate such numerical simulations for a carbon/carbon material mounted in the side wall of a hot gas channel that are able to capture a spatially varying interplay between the hot gas flow and the coolant at the interface, we formulate a model for the porous medium flow of Darcy–Forchheimer type. A finite‐element solver for the corresponding porous medium flow is presented and coupled with a finite‐volume solver for the compressible Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes equations. The two‐dimensional and three‐dimensional results at Mach number Ma = 0.5 and hot gas temperature T_HG=540 K for different blowing ratios are compared with experimental data. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A mode split,Godunov‐type model for nonhydrostatic,free surface flow

A previously developed model for nonhydrostatic, free surface flow is redesigned to improve computational efficiency without sacrificing accuracy. Both models solve the Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes equations in a fractional step manner with the pressure split into hydrostatic and nonhydrostatic components. The hydrostatic equations are first solved with an approximate Riemann solver. The hydrostatic solution is then corrected by including the nonhydrostatic pressure and requiring the velocity field to obey the incompressibility constraint. The original model requires the solution of a Riemann problem at every cell face for each vertical layer of cells, which is computationally expensive. The redesigned model instead solves the shallow water (long wave) equations for the hydrostatic solution. Vertical shear is computed by subtracting the shallow water equations from the full three dimensional equations, which removes the hydrostatic thrust terms. Therefore, the required fluxes may be more efficiently computed with velocity based upwind differencing rather than solving a Riemann problem in each vertical layer of cells. This approach is termed mode splitting and has been used in hydrostatic coastal and ocean circulation models, but not surf zone models. Numerical predictions are compared with analytical solutions and experimental data to show that the mode split model is as accurate as the original model, but requires significantly less computational effort especially for large numbers of cell layers. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.     

A higher resolution edge‐based finite volume method for the simulation of the oil–water displacement in heterogeneous and anisotropic porous media using a modified IMPES method

In this article, we present a higher‐order finite volume method with a ‘Modified Implicit Pressure Explicit Saturation’ (MIMPES) formulation to model the 2D incompressible and immiscible two‐phase flow of oil and water in heterogeneous and anisotropic porous media. We used a median‐dual vertex‐centered finite volume method with an edge‐based data structure to discretize both, the elliptic pressure and the hyperbolic saturation equations. In the classical IMPES approach, first, the pressure equation is solved implicitly from an initial saturation distribution; then, the velocity field is computed explicitly from the pressure field, and finally, the saturation equation is solved explicitly. This saturation field is then used to re‐compute the pressure field, and the process follows until the end of the simulation is reached. Because of the explicit solution of the saturation equation, severe time restrictions are imposed on the simulation. In order to circumvent this problem, an edge‐based implementation of the MIMPES method of Hurtado and co‐workers was developed. In the MIMPES approach, the pressure equation is solved, and the velocity field is computed less frequently than the saturation field, using the fact that, usually, the velocity field varies slowly throughout the simulation. The solution of the pressure equation is performed using a modification of Crumpton's two‐step approach, which was designed to handle material discontinuity properly. The saturation equation is solved explicitly using an edge‐based implementation of a modified second‐order monotonic upstream scheme for conservation laws type method. Some examples are presented in order to validate the proposed formulation. Our results match quite well with others found in literature. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The intersection marker method for 3D interface tracking of deformable surfaces in finite volumes

Currently, the majority of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes use the finite volume method to spatially discretise the computational domain, sometimes as an array of cubic control volumes. The Finite volume method works well with single‐phase flow simulations, but two‐phase flow simulations are more challenging because of the need to track the surface interface traversing and deforming within the 3D grid. Surface area and volume fraction details of each interface cell must be accurately accounted for, in order to calculate for the momentum exchange and rates of heat and mass transfer across the interface. To attain a higher accuracy in two‐phase flow CFD calculations, the intersection marker (ISM) method is developed. The ISM method is a hybrid Lagrangian–Eulerian front‐tracking algorithm that can model an arbitrary 3D surface within an array of cubic control volumes. The ISM method has a cell‐by‐cell remeshing capability that is volume conservative and is suitable for the tracking of complex interface deformation in transient two‐phase CFD simulations. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

L2Roe: a low dissipation version of Roe's approximate Riemann solver for low Mach numbers

A modification of the Roe scheme called L²Roe for low dissipation low Mach Roe is presented. It reduces the dissipation of kinetic energy at the highest resolved wave numbers in a low Mach number test case of decaying isotropic turbulence. This is achieved by scaling the jumps in all discrete velocity components within the numerical flux function. An asymptotic analysis is used to show the correct pressure scaling at low Mach numbers and to identify the reduced numerical dissipation in that regime. Furthermore, the analysis allows a comparison with two other schemes that employ different scaling of discrete velocity jumps, namely, LMRoe and a method of Thornber et al. To this end, we present for the first time an asymptotic analysis of the last method. Numerical tests on cases ranging from low Mach number (M_∞=0.001) to hypersonic (M_∞=5) viscous flows are used to illustrate the differences between the methods and to show the correct behavior of L²Roe. No conflict is observed between the reduced numerical dissipation and the accuracy or stability of the scheme in any of the investigated test cases. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the accuracy of a nonlinear finite volume method for the solution of diffusion problems using different interpolations strategies

In this paper, we consider a nonlinear finite volume method to solve the steady‐state diffusion equation in nonhomogeneous and non‐isotropic media. The method is nonlinear even if the original problem is linear. In its original form, the scheme is monotone, because the coefficient matrix is monotone under certain assumptions and, as a consequence, whenever the analytic operator demands, it preserves the positivity of numerical solutions. On the other hand, the scheme is unable to reproduce piecewise linear solutions exactly. In order to recover this interesting feature, we use two different interpolation strategies. In this case, even though we are unable to prove monotonicity, we show some numerical evidences that the combined method has an improved behavior, producing second order accurate solutions, even for nonhomogeneous and strongly anisotropic media. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Temperature dependence of the properties of ternary systems ethanol + water + an aliphatic alkane (C6-C9)

The measures and calculation of different properties such as refractive index, density, speed of sound, excess molar volume, and isentropic compressibility of the ternary heterogeneous compounds by ethanol + water + (n-hexane, n-heptane, n-octane, n-nonane) have been performed in the range 288.15–323.15 K and atmospheric pressure. Attending to the accurate results of these models, the equation of state enclosing mixing rules is indicated as a simple estimation of the procedures of these properties for this kind of multicomponent systems.